Feminism and Philosophy of Education

Introduction

Feminism has now influenced nearly all the academic disciplines and traditions and has also informed newer areas of inquiry as they have come into existence. Feminist thought has been fairly contagious, with insights arising in one corner of the academy being “caught” in others. Thus the scholarship of, say, a feminist biologist may come to be reflected in that of a psychologist, and vice versa. This pattern has characterized feminism in philosophy of education, where feminist ideas originating elsewhere are brought to bear on questions and problems in the field and where, occasionally, ideas developed within the field are exported to other traditions and disciplines.

Jane Roland Martin: Pioneer

In the USA, Jane Roland Martin was one of the first professional philosophers of education to bring a feminist perspective to her work. Reflecting back on the field prior to the 1980s, Martin noted the absence of discussions by or about women: